Michigan Democrats are looking to West Michigan for gains this election. The party is hoping to flip a second state Senate seat in historically red Kent County.
The seat currently belongs to state Sen. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker), who is seeking re-election. He’s campaigning against state Rep. Carol Glanville (D-Walker), who flipped Huizenga’s former House district blue during a special election in 2022.
Campaigning on Glanville’s behalf during an event in Grand Rapids Thursday, State Rep. John Fitzgerald (D-Wyoming) said prioritizing food assistance programs, tax credits, and road repairs has helped the home county of Grands Rapids trend blue in recent years.
“To go from one, two representatives from the Democratic Party to now having five state representatives, a Senate majority leader to boot and now potentially another seat here in Kent County, but metro Grand Rapids, that is a real change that people can see, that people can feel,” Fitzgerald said.
Republicans currently hold four out of the five state Senate seats that include a part of Kent County.
A Democratic pickup would extend the party’s Senate majority to three seats, if it successfully defends all other battleground districts. Its party members are feeling optimistic about those chances.
Republicans face significant political headwinds this election with President Donald Trump’s popularity at an all-time low. Plus, historical trends show voters typically swinging heavily against a president’s party during the midterm elections.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Democrats might be on the brink of winning back a trifecta in which they control the state House, Senate, and governor's office, but she still hopes the state Legislature passes some housing and economic development bills before ending the term. As it stands, Democrats control the state Senate and Republicans control the Michigan House of Representatives.
Whitmer said she believes the House’s current Republican leadership will have some incentive to work with Democrats, even if the chamber flips.
“I think the House might say, ‘Well, we’ve figured out how to work with this governor. Maybe there are a few more things we’d like to get done and maybe the Senate is interested in negotiating on,” Whitmer said at Monday’s event. “You never know how people are going to feel after an election.”
Some of the biggest battlegrounds in the fight for the state Legislature include seats in the suburbs surrounding Grand Rapids and Detroit. Those metro-hubs also happen to be some of the seven Michigan cities where the U.S. Department of Justice is sending election monitors.
At a campaign event for Republican candidates in Port Huron over the weekend, Trump repeated lies about the 2020 election being stolen, despite mountains of evidence otherwise.
Whitmer said the rhetoric has officials on alert.
“States run elections and anyone who comes in to try to interfere with them is going to bump up against that truth, which is the states run elections and intimidation, no matter where it comes from, is not acceptable and we will not abide by that,” Whitmer said.
The Department of Justice routinely sends monitors to various cities to ensure ballot access. That includes to four cities during Michigan's August primary.
